Seal systems using gasket devices are well known and have been used in a variety of applications to prevent fluid from leaking between joined pieces. For example, a seal device is interposed and compressed between flanged end connections of a flow line. In some cases, in-line process control equipment is to be installed at various points in a flow line and may be associated with flanged end connections of a flow line. In-line process control equipment may include such things as valves, pumps, flow meters, temperature controllers, pressure controllers and the like. In addition, ends of pipe sections are provided with flanges so that the sections may be connected, end-to-end, to form the flow line. It is known to provide gasket devices at the interfaces of the joined sections to prevent leakage of the fluid at the joint.
Regardless of the nature of the joint, that is, whether it is between the joined sections of pipe or whether for some other purpose, such as, for example, joints used to connect in-line process control equipment, it is desirable for a gasket device and seal system to be selected based on various factors that are associated with a particular joint and the particular media that is conveyed through the joint. These factors include the corrosive nature of the media flowing through the pipe line as well as the physical characteristics of that flowing media. Such physical characteristics include the pressure, temperature and velocity of the media, as well as anticipated changes in the pressure (including a dramatic change in pressure due to rupture), temperature and velocity of the media. Additionally, in many cases it is also necessary to not only provide a reliable seal for the joint but to also electrically isolate one side of the joint from the other.